Today we were back in explorer mode so\nwe decided to take a spin into the Olympic National Park,\nspecifically to Hurricane Ridge. We started by getting from our\ncurrent RV spot at Diamond Point RV Park up the serpentine road to\nUS-101 which we took west to the city of Port Angeles. There we\nturned onto Hurricane Ridge Road. At the bottom we were pretty close\nto sea level (Strait of Juan de Fuca level here) and we started to\nsteady climb up the first five miles until we got to the Park Service\ntoll booth where there was about a half hour backup in the traffic\nline. It was a gorgeous day today so we supposed that lots of folks\nhad decided to go up to the Ridge to enjoy the view. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOnce we got very close to the toll\nbooth, a National Park Ranger was stationed alongside the traffic\nline who noted that we had a geezer pass to cross onto federal\nproperties for free and she waved us through. Free access to National\nParks is one of the very few benefits of getting older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe road continues to climb through\nseveral climate zones before emerging at 4500′ almost above tree line\nwhere there is a parking lot and many folks wearing funny garb\nusually associated with pesky ferners. We heard Arabic, Chinese,\nJapanese and quite a few other languages that we couldn’t understand\nemanating from the myriad of folks on top of the mountains enjoying\nthe view. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tFrom the visitor center at the end of\nthe road, Hurricane Ridge occupies the entire southern horizon from\nwest to east. There are some glaciers clinging to the sides of the\ntaller peaks and visible below is a massive old-growth forest. There\nwere animals everywhere. We spotted hordes of deer and noted some\ngray jays hanging around the visitor area, dive bombing and snatching\nloose food from those foolish enough to keep their grub in plain\nsight. We even met some nice doggies who had accompanied their humans\nto the top of the hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scenery is spectacular there. Click the link to see photos. https:\/\/photos.app.goo.gl\/BauXh53anGufpUEi7<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today we were back in explorer mode so we decided to take a spin into the Olympic National Park, specifically to Hurricane Ridge. We started by getting from our current RV spot at Diamond Point RV Park up the serpentine … Continue reading